By Anthony Bottan and Andrew Hackmack
Bernstein said that the aid reduction is disproportionate to those in other districts. "The Central High School District is losing 13 percent, while the average on Long Island is 7 percent," he said. "We are an average wealth community. There might be an error in the governor's calculations."
Bernstein added that he and Wayne Loper, assistant superintendent for finance and operations, are reviewing the formula the governor's office used to determine how much state aid to districts will have to be cut. He added that he does not think the formula takes into account the unique nature of central high school districts, given that there are only three of them on Long Island.
Bernstein and Loper collected information from those three districts and their 11 component elementary districts to see if there is a pattern, he said. Once they analyze the data, he explained, they will be in a better position to determine whether the governor's office overlooked something in its calculations.
Valley Stream's three elementary school districts would lose a combined $1.5 million in state aid under the governor's proposal. District 24 would be cut by $437,000, or 8 percent. Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale said that isn't too far off the Long Island average. District officials have always strived to run an efficient operation, he said, but they would look to tighten any way they can. "There is not much that we could cut that would not hurt children," said Fale.
He stressed that the governor's numbers are not final, and the scenario could be better under the state Legislature's proposal, as has historically been the case. But, Fale said, this year, with the state facing a massive deficit and under one-party control, things could be markedly different.
District 13 Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison said that administrators were fearing an aid cut of $1 million or more, so there was a little relief when they learned that the proposed reduction was about half that. Still, she said, "$500,000 is a lot of money for us any way you look at it."
Lison said that the administration and the school board would work together to come up with an acceptable tax levy increase for next year, then work backward to see how much of the budget would need to be trimmed. "Obviously we don't want to cut into the core of our program," she said.
The goal will be to maintain current programs and keep the buildings in good shape, Lison said, but any new initiatives will have to wait for better times. "We're going to be happy to preserve what we have," she said.
District 30 Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas said school officials knew there likely would not be an increase in aid this year, but they were at least hoping it would stay the same. "It's not staying flat, it's being cut," she said.
The district would lose about $515,000, or 9.33 percent of its aid, under the governor's proposal. Kanas said it is too early to say where these cuts might be made.
Lison said that in looking at the numbers, it seems that Long Island schools are bearing an unfair burden. In Paterson's proposed budget, state aid would be reduced by a total of $698 million, or 3.3 percent. All four of Valley Stream's districts would be cut by higher percentages than that. "We're always hit harder than the rest of the state," Lison said.
The Central High School District has already taken steps to cut back on spending. Bernstein noted that on Dec. 2, the district implemented a hiring freeze on nonteaching personnel and a freeze on discretionary expenditures.
At the 1 p.m. school board meeting on Jan. 10 at Memorial Junior High School, the board will discuss the budget and how the district will address the proposed state aid cuts. Bernstein said he invites any concerned residents to come to the meeting to share their opinions or suggestions. His full cabinet will meet the week of Jan. 5 to look at options to propose to the school board. "There is no reason to panic," Bernstein said. "But there is a reason for real concern and participation."
Fale said that District 24 has eliminated some supply and equipment purchases this year, but that will not, at least in the short term, affect the instruction program. He said the goal is to end this year with a surplus, which he is anticipating, to minimize the tax levy increase next year.
Administrators and the Board of Education will soon begin discussing ways to make reductions in the budget if the governor's cuts become a reality. Fale said it is likely that at least one extra board work session will be scheduled. "We want to be prepared in case we have to effect changes," he said, "but at the same time we don't want to panic and make any unnecessary cuts."
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